Means for opening covers of bound books

ABSTRACT

A means for opening covers of bound books in the process of applying a jacket to the bound book cover, which comprises a pair of sucker discs and a pair of support members disposed on the opposite sides of the path of travel of bound books moving one behind another in a vertically extending or upraised position with the book spine facing downwardly, the sucker discs and the support members being adapted to move downwardly and outwardly with respect to the bound book to open the cover sheet thereof, a pair of pusher members adapted to force inwardly the ends of the leaves which have accompanied the cover sheet during opening and a pair of curved movable guide members adapted to engage and bring the corresponding leaves back to the vertically extending position so as not to interfere with the subsequent jacketing operation on the book cover.

United States Patent [191 Sato 1 MEANS FOR OPENING COVERS OF BOUND BOOKS [75] Inventor: Toshio Sato, Tokyo, Japan [73] Assignee: Nishioki Mfg. C0., Ltd., Tokyo,

Japan [22] Filed: June 4, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 476,233

[ 1 May 6,1975

Primary ExaminerLawrence Charles Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Sughrue, Rothwell, Mion, Zinn & MacPeak [57] ABSTRACT A means for opening covers of bound books in the process of applying a jacket to the bound book cover, which comprises a pair of sucker discs and a pair of support members disposed on the opposite sides of the path of travel of bound books moving one behind another in a vertically extending or upraised position with the book spine facing downwardly, the sucker discs and the support members being adapted to move downwardly and outwardly with respect to the bound book to open the cover sheet thereof, a pair of pusher members adapted to force inwardly the ends of the leaves which have accompanied the cover sheet during opening and a pair of curved movable guide members adapted to engage and bring the corresponding I 3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDHAY 6 I975 FIGI SHEET 10F 2 PATENTEDHAY 61975 3881204 SHEET 2 OF 2 MEANS FOR OPENING COVERS OF BOUND BOOKS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a mechanism for opening the cover sheet of a bound book so that a jacket can be applied over and around the cover sheet easily and reliably.

2. Summary of the Invention A primary object of the invention is to provide a means for opening the cover sheet of a bound book while keeping the interior leaves of the bound book in a vertically upraised position.

It is another object of the invention to provide a means which prevents the leaves which have accompanied the cover sheet in the opening operation from interfering with the subsequent jacketing operation.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a jacketing machine wherein the jacketing operation on a bound book cover is carried out smoothly and reliably without encountering interference by any interior leaves of the bound book.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided a mechanism for opening the cover sheet of a bound book which comprises a conveyer means for transporting bound books one behind another in vertically upraised position with the book spine facing downwardly, a pair of sucker discs and a pair of support members disposed on the opposite sides of the conveyer means, the sucker discs and support members being adapted to move downwardly outward and in the forward direction in a synchronous manner with the advancement of the conveyer means while engaging the cover sheet of a bound book on the conveyer means to achieve opening of the cover sheet, a pair of retainers disposed on the opposite sides of the conveyer means for grasping and retaining most of the leaves in the bound book in their upraised position while the cover sheet is being opened, a pair of pusher members movable laterally inward with respect to the conveyer means to inwardly force the number of leaves which have accompanied the opened cover sheet, thereby causing the leaves to assume upwardly curved form defining hollow spaces between the cover sheet and the curved leaves, and a pair of curved guide members adapted to telescope into the hollow space thus formed and to swing upwardly to bring the curved leaves back to the vertically upraised position.

Further in accordance with the invention, there is provided a jacketing machine which comprises a mechanism for opening covers of bound books, the mechanism including a conveyer means for transporting bound books one behind another in their vertically uprising position with the book spine facing downwardly, a pair of sucker discs and a pair of support members disposed on the opposite sides of the conveyer means, the sucker discs and support members being adapted to move downwardly outward and in the forward direction in a synchronous manner with the advancement of the conveyer means while engaging the cover sheet of movable laterally inward with respect to the conveyer means to inwardly force the number of leaves which have been accompanied by the opened cover sheet, thereby causing the same to assume upwardly curved form defining hollow spaces between the cover sheet and the curved leaves, and a pair of curved guidemembers adapted to telescope into the hollow spaces thus formed and to swing upwardly to bring the curved leaves back to the vertically upraised position, a pair of retainer frames disposed behind the curved guide members for receiving and retaining all the interior leaves of the bound book in their upraised position, and a jacketing station including a means for feeding and applying a jacket sheetover and around the cover sheet moving on the conveyer means in book open position.

The foregoing and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become clearly apparent from the following description, appended claims and annexed drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevational view-of a preferred em-' bodiment of the mechanism in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the mechanism of FIG. l,'taken about line 11-11.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view showing the essential part of the mechanism of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view showin a portion of the mechanism in operation. 1

DETAILED EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the mechanism in accordance with the present invention comprises a conveyer means 2 for transporting bound books 1 one behind another, and a frame member 4 incorporating feed conveyers 3 adapted to deliver the succession of bound books 1 to the conveyer means 2 in the vertically extendingor upraised position.

A pair of sucker discs 5 and a pair of support members 6 are located on opposite sides of the conveyer means 2 behind the feed frame 4 and each set of sucker disc and support member on each side of the conveyer means is connected to a lever 7 adapted to slidably move in the lengthwise direction of the conveyer means 2 and simultaneously pivot or swinglaterally outward by the operation of an actuator lever 8 which is synchronized with the operation of the conveyer means 2.

Accordingly, the sucker discs 5 and the support members 6 are movable downwardly and outwardly in the forward direction along with a bound book 1 being carried on the conveyer means 2.

A pair of parallel extending retainers 9 are provided on the opposite sides of the conveyer means and located above and downstream of the levers 7. Each of the retainers 9 carries an actuator lever ,10 and a curved guide member l 1 adapted to move up and down by the operation of the actuator lever 10.

Located behind the pair of guide members 11 are a pair of retainer frames 12 which extend to the jacketing station incorporating a jacket feed means 13.

A pair of pusher members 14 are provided on the opposite sides of the conveyer at a downstream spaced point from the levers 7 and adapted to move downwardly and inwardly in the lateral direction whereby the leaves in the bound book which have undesirably accompanied the cover sheet as it was engaged and opened by the sucker discs 5 and the support members 6 are forced inwardly to assume an upwardly curved position FIG. 4. Power shaft 17 drives horizontal main axis 15, which by way of cams 18 effects synchronized movement of sucker discs 5, support members 6, pusher members 14. One of the cams 18 controls oscillation of curved guide member 11 by way of crank arm 19 and upper shaft 20.

In operation, as a bound book 1 is delivered onto the conveyer 2 from the feed frame 4 by the conveyers 3 and is carried forwardly by the conveyer means 2 as indicated by arrow A, FIG. 3, most of the leaves in the bound book 1 are grasped and retained in the upraised or vertically extending position between the retainers 9 while the cover sheet is opened downwardly and outwardly in the direction of arrows B in FIG. 2 by the operation of the sucker discs sticking to the cover sheet and the support members 6 contacting and sustaining the lower portions of the cover sheet during opening.

In the next stage, the leaves which have been undesirably opened in the conjunction with the opening of the cover sheet are forced inwardly in the direction of arrows C to such an extent as to cause the ends 21 of the corresponding leaves 22 to assume the dotted position of FIG. 3 wherein substantial hollow spaces 5 are formed between the partially uprising leaves and the cover sheet, as shown in FIG. 4.

The guide members 11 enter the hollow spaces 5 thus formed and move the leaves 22 to their vertically extending or completely upraised position.

In this form, that is, with the cover sheet in the completely-open position on the conveyer means 2 and with all the interior leaves of the bound book being retained in the upraised position by the retainer frames 12, the bound book is transported to the jacketting station.

In accordance with the invention, the book cover sheet can be opened reliably to its desired open position without any danger of misplacement because the downward and outward movement of the sucker discs 5 and the support members 6 and their movement in the forward direction is synchronized with the advancement of the bound book on the conveyer means and also because support for the lower portions of the cover sheet by the support members 6 is maintained throughout the opening process.

Further, the hollow spaces 5 formed between the opened cover sheet and the accompanied leaves 22 by the laterally inward movement of the pusher members 14 provided behind the sets of sucker discs 5 and the support members 6 will facilitate entrance or pick up by the curved guide members 11 as the bound book is carried forwardly by the conveyer means.

During the final phase of pivotal movement of the guide members 11 which takes place along a forward edge of the retainer frames 12, the leaves are brought back to the completely upraised position and are retained in this position by retainer frames 12 so that they can never interfere with the jacketting operation of the cover sheet.

Although the invention has been described with respect to its preferred embodiment, it should be understood that many variations and modifications will now be apparent to those skilled in the art, and it is preferred to be limited not by the specific disclosure herein but only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

'and a pair of curved guide members downstream of 1. A mechanism for opening covers of bound books, comprising: a conveyor means for transporting bound books one behind another in the vertically upraised position with the book spine facing downwardly, sucker discs and support members disposed on the opposite sides of said conveyor means, means for moving said sucker discs and support members downwardly outward and in the forward direction in a synchronous manner with the advancement of said conveyor means while engaging the cover sheet of a bound book on said conveyor means to achieve opening of the cover sheet, retainers disposed on the opposite sides of said conveyor means for grasping and retaining most of the leaves in the bound book in their upraised position while the cover sheet is being opened, a pair of pusher members downstream of said sucker discs and support members on respective sides of said conveyor means and movable laterally inward with respect to said conveyor means to inwardly force the leaves which have accompanied the opened cover sheet, thus causing the same to assume upwardly curved form defining hollow spaces between the cover sheet and the curved leaves, and a pair of curved guide members disposed in juxtaposition to said pusher members telescoping said guide members into the hollow spaces thus formed and means for swinging upwardly to bring the curved leaves back to the vertically upraised position.

2. A mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said sucker discs and support members are supported by a pair of levers which swing outward and slidably move forward in a synchronous manner with the movement of said conveyer means.

3. A machine for jacketting bound books, comprising a mechanism for opening covers of bound books, said mechanism comprising a conveyor means for transporting bound books one behind another in their vertically extending upraised position with the book spine facing downwardly, sucker discs and support members disposed on opposite sides of said conveyor means,

"means for moving said sucker discs and support members downwardly outward and in the forward direction in a synchronous manner with the advancement of said conveyor means while engaging the cover sheet of a bound book on said conveyor means to achieve opening of the same, retainers disposed on opposite sides of said conveyor means downstream of said sucker discs for grasping and retaining most of the leaves in the bound books in their upraised position while the cover sheet is being moved to the open position, a pair of pusher members downstream of said sucker discs and movable laterally inward with respect to said conveyor means to inwardly force the leaves which have accompanied the opened cover sheet, thereby causing the same to assume upwardly curved form defining hollow spaces between the cover sheet and the curved leaves,

said pusher members and means to telescope said guide members into the hollow spaces thus formed and to swing them upwardly to bring the curved leaves back to the vertically upraised position, a pair of retainer frames disposed behind said curved guide members for receiving and retaining all the interior leaves of the bound book in the upraised position, and a jacketting station including a means for feeding and applying a jacket sheet over and around the cover sheet moving on said conveyor means with said cover sheet in open position and the interior leaves raised therefrom. 

1. A mechanism for opening covers of bound books, comprising: a conveyor means for transporting bound books one behind another in the vertically upraised position with the book spine facing downwardly, sucker discs and support members disposed on the opposite sides of said conveyor means, means for moving said sucker discs and support members downwardly outward and in the forward direction in a synchronous manner with the advancement of said conveyor means while engaging the cover sheet of a bound book on said conveyor means to achieve opening of the cover sheet, retainers disposed on the opposite sides of said conveyor means for grasping and retaining most of the leaves in the bound book in their upraised position while the cover sheet is being opened, a pair of pusher members downstream of said sucker discs and support members on respective sides of said conveyor means and movable laterally inward with respect to said conveyor means to inwardly force the leaves which have accompanied the opened cover sheet, thus causing the same to assume upwardly curved form defining hollow spaces between the cover sheet and the curved leaves, and a pair of curved guide members disposed in juxtaposition to said pusher members telescoping said guide members into the hollow spaces thus formed and means for swinging upwardly to bring the curved leaves back to the vertically upraised position.
 2. A mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said sucker discs and support members are supported by a pair of levers which swing outward and slidably move forward in a synchronous manner with the movement of said conveyer means.
 3. A machine for jacketting bound books, comprising a mechanism for opening covers of bound books, said mechanism comprising a conveyor means for transporting bound books one behind another in their vertically extending upraised position with the book spine facing downwardly, sucker discs and support members disposed on opposite sides of said conveyor means, means for moving said sucker discs and support members downwardly outward and in the forward direction in a synchronous manner with the advancement of said conveyor means while engaging the cover sheet of a bound book on said conveyor means to achieve opening of the same, retainers disposed on opposite sides of said conveyor means downstream of said sucker discs for grasping and retaining most of the leaves in the bound books in their upraised position while the cover sheet is being moved to the open position, a pair of pusher members downstream of said sucker discs and movable laterally inward with respect to said conveyor means to inwardly force the leaves which have accompanied the opened cover sheet, thereby causing the same to assume upwardly curved form defining hollow spaces between the cover sheet and the curved leaves, and a pair of curved guide members downstream of said pusher members and means to telescope said guide members into the hollow spaces thus formed and to swing them upwardly to bring the curved leaves back to the vertically upraised position, a pair of retainer frames disposed behind said curved guide members for receiving and retaining all the interior leaves of the bound book in the upraised position, and a jacketting station including a means for feeding and applying a jacket sheet over and around the cover sheet moving on said conveyor means with said cover sheet in open position and the interior leaves raised therefrom. 